Here's the official first chapter! I hope you enjoy! I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.

Some of my chapters will have the same titles as some songs. That's because I feel like some songs help describe the chapter.

Second Chance by Shinedown

Splash!

The little girl ran through a deep puddle, soaking her entire right leg. She could feel the wet cloth sticking to her skin in an uncomfortable way.

But she kept running.

She had to keep moving. The villagers were hunting her down. And for the life of her, she couldn't understand why. The people of her home hated her. They disliked everything about her. They cursed her when she walked by them. They threw things at her back. There were multiple attempts to take her life.

And now, when she was finally leaving them, they tried to keep her there. Why? Why would they track her down just so they could torment her some more? She was doing them all a favor. They've hated her since she was born. And now she was leaving; they shouldn't be upset about it. Suki just couldn't understand why they were so angry about her disappearance.

Thud!

Suki's foot tripped over a lone rock in the path, causing her to fall over, face first into the ground. "Darn it," she muttered as she tried to pick herself up. The sound of screaming and cursing reached her ears. She turned around to look at the source. A little ways behind her, the men of her village were running up the path toward her.

The six-year-old girl scrambled to her feet, grabbed her backpack that had fallen onto the ground, and made a mad dash for a hiding spot. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a cave. Urging her legs to move faster, she redirected herself towards it.

She dove inside and hid herself in the darkness. As soon as she was inside, she realized that she was in a silver mine. The Land of Silver was famous for its plethora of mines. The country was alive only through its trading with the natural resources that it held.

Suki was disrupted from her observations when she heard the men outside. They were dangerously close to the opening of the mine. The little girl shrunk even deeper into the darkness.

The men lurking outside searched through bushes and trees, looking for the girl. "Jeez, where is that brat?"

"If we don't find her, the Lord may have our heads!"

"Hey, do you think she went inside that mine?" Suki had to stifle her squeak with her hand, praying that no one would enter the cave.

"Nah, no one's allowed to go in there except the miners."

"C'mon, let's go search the forest."

Suki listened to the rustling of the men entering the forest. She waited until she could no longer hear their footsteps or their voices. Once she knew the coast was clear, she slowly exited the cave. She placed her backpack securely over her shoulders and ran in the opposite direction that the men had gone in.

The girl pushed her legs as far as they would carry her.

And when they started to go numb, she pushed them even harder. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a dark cloud moving in to block the blue sky. Suki shook her head, almost as if in defiance.

"Not yet… don't let it rain just yet!" she thought mentally to the sky.

But of course, the universe could never take orders from a six-year-old girl. At first, it drizzled lightly. And then it progressed into a full downpour. The rain came down in buckets. There was nowhere for Suki to take cover; she was in an open field that stretched for miles on end.

But she kept running. She had come too far to back down now. The girl only had to cross the border that divided the Land of Silver from the other nations. Suki hadn't even thought of where she was going. She just knew that she had to cross that invisible line that would lead to her freedom.

Suddenly, Suki felt her foot being sucked into something. She looked down to see that her left foot had been caught in the mud. She tried to free herself, but it was too late. She had been in mid-run when she discovered her trapped foot. And when she tried to free her foot, she ended up twisting her ankle.

The girl shrieked in pain as her ankle twisted itself. Suki fell to the muddy ground, but this time, she did not pick herself up. She was so tired… of everything.

The raindrops continued to tap endlessly on her head and back. She slowly lifted her face to look around. Luckily, the men still hadn't found her. She had time… for now.

The little girl, shivering from head to toe, lifted herself up so that she was sitting on her butt. The mud soaked through her pants, but she ignored it. It didn't matter.

Suki cautiously reached out and gently touched her left ankle. Barely touching it, she flinched in pain. The skin was starting to turn all different shades of purple and blue. The sight of her now swelling ankle brought on the realization that Suki had tried so hard to deny.

She was weak. She couldn't handle the harsh realities that life always threw at her. For six years, Suki had lived through torture. And even after all that time, she couldn't call herself brave. Everything that had ever happened to her only made her pity her life more and angry at herself for not being able to stand up for her pride.

"Monster!"

"Freak!"

"Killer!"

"Murderer!"

Suki quickly closed her eyes tightly, trying to force back the horrible voices that echoed through her head. These were some of the kinder nicknames that her fellow villagers called her. Yet, every time she heard them, tears formed in her eyes.

And this was no exception. The six-year-old tried to hold them back, but the tears had already leaked from her eyes. They slowly streaked down her face, leaving behind a path of salty wetness. Her teardrops mixed with the rain and mud on her face. After a few moments of sniffling, she wiped her face with her hands, careful to make sure that she didn't get any mud into her eyes.

As she wiped the scum off her face, she glanced at her right wrist. The strange birthmark in the shape of a circle. As she stared at it, Suki had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from crying again. This stupid tattoo…it was the reason for everything. As long as the little girl could remember, whenever a villager happened to glance at her, they would cower away and call her names. And Suki had begun to realize that they only avoided her because they had seen her wrist.

Suki didn't understand what was so bad about the mark. When she was alone, she had often stared at it, trying to figure out if it was supposed to be some kind of secret symbol. But whenever a villager saw the tattoo, their stares turned to hard glares. This birthmark was the source of all her problems.

The girl took a deep, calming breath to relieve her thoughts. She ripped a piece of cloth from her black Capri pants and wrapped it around her wrist. She hated the sight of it, and she was happy to see it hidden behind the rag.

Knowing that she had to continue her journey, Suki placed her hands on the ground. She used them as leverage to push her body up, careful to avoid stepping on her injured ankle. She removed her hands from the mud, creating a light squishy sound.

Carefully and slowly, Suki walked on. She was cold and hungry and tired. Being an orphan, she had no decent clothes, and at the moment, she only had her white T-shirt and black pants. She had little food that she had managed to steal from street vendors. Not that she felt good about stealing; she knew it was wrong. But it was the only possible way to find anything to eat. In addition, she had been running all day. And because of the cold rain, her body was numb. She knew she had reached her limit a while back, and she was way past the point of exhaustion.

As she walked, she accidentally applied too much pressure to her left leg. As a result, her leg gave out, and she collapsed back into the mud. "Darn it!" she screamed in anger. "I can't do anything…" She sighed, almost as if in defeat. At this point, she was almost debating with herself whether she should just wait for death by starvation, sickness, or pneumonia. Or maybe she should wait until the men found her and dragged her back to the village. At least there, there would be food. Then again, a lot of punishments were surely waiting for her as well.

The weak little girl curled her legs up to her chest and hugged them tightly. Her bushy raven-black hair clung to her face from the mud and rain. Sadly, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a couple hair ties. She tied her hair into a ponytail, and then she braided it with the second rubber band.

Suki decided to just… wait. Wait for something. Who knows? Maybe the universe would decide to help her, rather than work against her. Exhibit A: the biggest downpour the young girl had ever witnessed in her short life.

"Life sucks…" Suki muttered to herself.

Suddenly, a flash of gold caught the girl's silver eyes. She turned her head to see… a bird. A large bird was standing, in the mud, a few feet away from her.

"What the heck?" the girl whispered. Birds did not stand in the mud when it was pouring like crazy outside.

Then again, this bird did not look like any bird Suki had ever seen before. It was about three feet tall, give or take a few inches. Its body was brown, but there were a bunch of golden feathers spread out through the bird's wings. But what really mesmerized Suki were the bird's eyes. The pupils were as dark as Suki's midnight black hair, and the rims of its eyes were a shining gold that matched its bright feathers. There was no doubt in Suki's mind; this bird was the most beautiful creature she had seen.

"Hello," Suki whispered to the creature. The bird stared at her intently, and then it turned its back to her. The girl frowned in disappointment, but when it turned its head to look at her, Suki immediately perked up. The bird stared at her for a moment longer before it flew off.

As she watched the bird fly away, Suki had a strange compelling feeling to follow the creature. She forced herself to stand up and walked after the bird. Slowly but surely, she followed the flying figure. There was definitely something bizarre about this bird. Because as far as Suki knew, birds could not fly in the rain; or at least they avoided it by taking shelter. So why was this bird with golden feathers and eyes able to fly in this awful downpour?

After a few minutes of walking, Suki had reached the edge of a forest. She stared into the brush, debating whether she should just stop now. She had lost sight of her leader, and she wasn't all that sure if she should be going into the dark woods.

Suddenly, through the black of the forest, two golden spheres opened and stared at Suki. The little girl gulped at first, but then she realized that those eyes belonged to the majestic bird. After a moment of looking into the deep golden eyes, the little girl walked into the forest. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to follow the shining gold that was now lighting her darkness.

After a while of walking, the eyes disappeared, and all that could be seen were shadows. The little girl almost started to panic, but then a peculiar scent reached her nose.

Food.

Cooked fish to be exact. She followed the smell, letting her nose lead the way now. The more she walked, the stronger the aroma became. Also, she could feel a strong warmth coming over her. She pushed herself through the brush and came to a tiny clearing. A tent was set up, and a tarp was hovering over a fire. And then she saw the fish. The sight of the food was so intoxicating that Suki felt her mouth start to water.

Suddenly, Suki started to feel… too warm. In fact, she felt like she was standing in the exact same spot where the fire was. She started to hyperventilate, and her vision started to blur. All she could see was the blurring image of the orange fire, the green tent… and a dark figure walking toward her. She took a step back to get away from the stranger. But before she knew it, the girl blacked out. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

The man walked over to the now unconscious child. He knelt down beside her still form and touched his hand to her forehead. She was burning up.

"How long has she been wandering in this rain?" the man thought.

He lightly put a hand over her legs to check for any other injuries. He discovered the swollen ankle, and he sighed.

"What have you been doing out here?" the man asked as he stared at the girl. He pulled out his medical kit and wrapped the ankle in gauze before splinting it.

He next checked her arms for anything out of the ordinary. He found a ripped piece of her pants tied around her right wrist. Wondering if it was some sort of laceration that needed treatment, he untied the cloth. His eyes widened at the sight. The black circular tattoo divided into twelve places… the mark of the Guardian.

The man glanced at the little girl's face. She was the picture of innocence. Her braided hair… her small face…the fact that she was hiding her tattoo only seemed to enhance her purity.

The man sighed again at that last thought. What kind of life could she have led if she was forced to cover up the symbol with a rag? Obviously, the man realized, she has had a difficult time.

The man's silver hair fell in front of his face as he scooped the girl up in his arms. He walked inside the tent and carefully removed her soaked clothes. He replaced them with his own set of black shirt and pants. They were gigantic on her small form, but at least they would keep her warm. The man then gently placed her in his sleeping bag. Next, he pulled out a cloth, soaked it with some cold water from his canteen, and placed it on her forehead to cool her fever.

The young man left the tent for a moment and returned with some of the fish that he had been cooking. When he returned, he noticed that the little girl was now stirring. He sat down beside her and waited for her to fully awake.

Her eyes opened, and her silver orbs met his black ones. When her mind finally registered where she was, what was going on, and who she was with, she instantly winced in fear and huddled under the sleeping bag as best as she could.

The man smiled down at her. "It's okay, little one. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help."

Suki slowly lifted her head out from under the sleeping bag and stared at the man in silent fear. "Who… who are you?" her small voice piped.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. And what is your name?"

"S-Suki Kurohoshi…" the girl replied.

Kakashi smiled through his black mask that covered more than half his face. "That's a beautiful name."

The girl stared at the man cautiously. Then she pointed at his head, or rather, his headband. "You're a ninja." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. And her tone of voice was almost informative, as if he didn't already know that he was a shinobi.

Kakashi brought his hand to his headband and tapped the Leaf symbol. "That's right. I'm a ninja for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Have you ever heard of that place?"

The girl slowly shook her head in a 'no' manner.

"Where do you live, Suki? Are you from the Land of Silver?" Kakashi asked.

She nodded.

"Then why were you out in this rain? Shouldn't you have been at home?"

Suki stayed silent.

Kakashi felt another pang of sympathy for the girl. "That's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. In the meantime…" The man handed a stick with some cooked fish to the girl. "You should get your strength up. You look hungry."

At first, she hesitated. Then she slowly sat up and peeled the cloth on her forehead off. Kakashi handed her the food, and she slowly ate it. It was so delicious. If there wasn't some stranger staring at her, she would be gorging herself right now. But being the shy girl that she was, she took small bites.

Kakashi noticed this hesitation with the fish. Then he smiled through his mask. "I have to go outside and kill the fire, alright? You just keep eating." He stood up from his perch beside the sleeping bag and headed out of the tent to let her enjoy her meal.

As soon as he was gone, Suki devoured the fish. And she relished in every bite of it. She hadn't eaten all day, and her meals back in the village usually only consisted of a piece of bread or fruit. This was paradise.

After the man put out the campfire, he walked back into the tent to find that she had finished her dinner. If he had known that he would be in circumstances such as this, he would have caught more fish. He felt a little guilty, but at least she had something in her stomach, right?

He took his seat beside her, and she looked up at him with her shining eyes. "Thank you… for the fish and…taking care of me," she whispered almost inaudibly.

But Kakashi heard her gratitude and smiled. "You're welcome, Suki."

The two stayed silent for awhile, just sitting inside the tent, lost in their own thoughts. Then the little girl turned to her rescuer. "Why did you help me?"

Kakashi stared intently at the girl's face. Her expression only showed bewilderment. "Because you needed my help. Why else?" he answered in a soft voice.

"Well… no one has ever helped me before," Suki admitted.

At first, the man was surprised. But after considering her circumstances, he realized that this was the kind of treatment he should have expected for the Guardian who was to take Gekido's place…

"Suki… don't you have any parents or relatives to take care of you?" Kakashi asked.

The girl shook her head. "I never knew my parents. And the villagers are all mean to me."

"Is that why you were out in the rain? Were you running away from home?" Kakashi asked as he stared at the girl's face for any indication that he was right.

And he found it. The girl bit her lower lip as if to keep her from letting a secret escape. But as she looked into his one onyx eye, as the other one was hidden behind his headband, she felt that she could trust him. So she nodded her head in answer to his questions.

Kakashi nodded his head once in understanding. "Suki… did you know where you were going when you were running away?"

The little girl tilted her head to the side in thought. Then she shook her head in response. "No… I was just…running."

The man nodded his head again. After hearing this girl's situation, an endless train of thoughts was soaring through his mind. He decided to pick one of those ideas and give it a shot.

"Suki… do you realize your ankle is badly twisted?" Kakashi asked.

The girl looked under the cover of the sleeping bag and noticed the makeshift cast that her savior had created. She nodded her head to question. "I hurt it when I was running away and fell into a mud puddle."

"I see…" Kakashi muttered. "Well, you shouldn't be walking on it. And since my village, Konoha, has great medical treatment, it would be my honor to escort you to my home to get checked up and healed."

"I… I don't know…" Suki stammered cautiously.

Sure, this guy had saved her…but could she really go so far as to follow him to his own village? She didn't know him all that well, just his name really. Then again… she was running away, and she probably would've stumbled upon Konoha Village sooner or later. Plus, she wanted to get as far away from this place as soon as possible.

So she nodded her head. "Yes… that would be great."

Kakashi smiled. "Good." He reached his hand out and touched her forehead. She was still really warm. "Now, how about you go back to sleep and get some rest? I'll wake you up tomorrow morning when we leave."

The girl nodded her head and laid back down into the comfort of the sleeping bag. As soon as her head made contact with the pillow, her eyes started to go heavy. Kakashi re-soaked the cloth and placed it back on her forehead.

Before her mind could go completely into the peaceful world of sleep, she looked at the man. "Kakashi… thank you… for everything."

The silver-haired jounin stared at her and gave her a warm and comforting smile. "You're welcome, Suki." The girl smiled back and then fell asleep.

The next morning, Suki felt something nudge her shoulder. Slowly, she dragged herself from the wonderful dreamland and opened her eyes. One eye was staring at her while the other was, of course, still hidden behind his headband.

"It's time to get up, Suki," Kakashi said softly.

The girl lightly groaned but obliged nevertheless. She pulled herself into a sitting position and removed the damp cloth from her head. The man handed the girl her pile of clothes.

"Here, these are dry now," Kakashi said. "I'll give you a few minutes."

He stood up and left the tent while Suki proceeded to change her clothes. Once she was finished, she limped out of the tent to see Kakashi packing some of his things away. He took his clothes and threw them in his backpack as well. Then he took down the tent and stuffed it away.

"Alright, everything is packed. You ready to go?" Kakashi asked as he looked down at the girl whose head only reached to about his hip. Suki nodded her response. "Okay, then let's get going."

Before Kakashi had a chance to bend down to pick the girl up, a loud rustling sound came from the brush. The jounin instantly went into defense mode as he stared at the direction of the noise.

Suddenly, a group of about ten men appeared from the edge of the woods. The men were carrying ropes, pitchforks, and bats. It was a classic angry-mob-of-villagers group.

At the sight of the weapons, Kakashi only deepened his stance. "May I ask what you all are doing here? Or did you just wish to send me your regards on a safe trip back to my village?"

The group glared at him, and then their eyes rested on the bushy-raven-haired girl standing beside Kakashi. The man in front, presumably the leader, growled as he stared at the six-year-old. "We've been looking everywhere for that girl. Now, if you could be so kind as to hand her over, we'll gladly be on our way."

"So these are her fellow villagers… No wonder she ran away…" Kakashi thought to himself. "Well, I was planning on taking her back to my village to have her checked out. She's sick and has an injured ankle."

"We can take care of that," a second man said. "She is of our village, after all."

"Yeah, don't worry. We'll take good care of the kill- I mean, the girl," a third man added.

Kakashi quirked his eyebrow at the group. "Really? Because judging from that stash of weapons you all have, I think that the girl will be safer in my hands."

"Right! Like we're going to let a ninja from a stranger village take away one of our own," the leader yelled at the jounin. The man turned his eyes on Suki. "C'mon, Suki. It's time to go home," the man growled fiercely. His teeth clenched as he spoke, and his red eyes sparked fear into the little girl's heart.

Suki started to shake where she stood. But then she found enough strength to move herself to hide behind Kakashi's legs.

"You stupid brat! Get over here!" the leader yelled angrily.

Without turning around, Kakashi could feel the small form standing behind him start to shake violently. The Leaf ninja glared back at the mob. "I think you had better back off."

"Who do you think you are, just whisking away one of our own villagers like that?" a small stout man with greasy red hair yelled.

"Well, last time I checked, I'm pretty sure that I am Kakashi Hatake of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. But if you can prove to me that I am otherwise, then please, feel free to show me that I am wrong."

The expressions of the angry villagers, all at once, turned into ones of shock.

"He's Kakashi Hatake?"

"Copy Ninja Kakashi!"

"Sharingan Kakashi!"

The men instantly took a step back in fear. The Leaf jounin smirked under his mask. "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, this little girl needs medical treatment."

"Y-You won't get away with this!" the leader yelled, even though the terror could be heard in his voice.

Kakashi kneeled down so Suki could ride on his back. He placed his hands securely on her legs to make sure she didn't fall off. He turned back around to face the village men. "What exactly won't I get away with?"

"Don't play coy, Hatake!" the leader growled, more fiercely this time. "When our Lord finds out, he will not be happy! And Konoha will be known as a village of criminals for taking away one of our own!"

"Alright," Kakashi replied simply. The men gawked at the silver-haired man's response. Even Suki was surprised by his curt reply. Everyone was still staring at him when he continued on. "In fact, go on ahead now and tell him. Let him know that the Leaf Village will be treating this child with a lot more care than you people ever could manage."

The men glared at Kakashi, but before they could make a snarky comeback, the ninja grabbed his pack and headed off into the woods.

The man in charge let out a low grumble in anger. His blood red eyes squinted in rage, but his dark hair fell to cover them. One of the others of the group tapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon Chishio, we must tell our Lord. He will be very upset with this."

"Yes, you're right. He would want to know that the Guardian has been taken out of his sights. Let's go," the man named Chishio said. He stalked away, his men following suit.

Kakashi flew through the trees of the forest, hopping from one branch to the next. Suki was seated on his back, her small arms wrapped around the man's neck. They squeezed tighter as Kakashi seemed to be getting higher with every leap.

The girl's arms were now choking the silver-haired man. "Suki…"

"Huh?" the girl replied, her eyes closed so she didn't have to see how high up they were.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Kakashi asked.

Suki opened her eyes a little but then quickly closed them when she saw how far away the ground was. "How did you know?"

"Because you're stopping the flow of oxygen into my lungs," Kakashi replied.

Realizing that she was, indeed, choking the man, she loosened her hold around his neck. In gratitude, the shinobi dropped down so he was on the ground, walking.

"Thank you," Suki whispered.

"No problem. Besides, I needed to breathe sooner or later," Kakashi remarked.

The little girl chuckled at his statement. Her laugh was so light and soft, but it was adorable nonetheless. She was only six; it was to be expected.

"Kakashi…?" Suki started.

"Yes?"

"Why…?"

"Why what?" Kakashi asked.

"Why are you helping me? You've never met me before. And everyone else seems to hate me anyway. Why are you so nice to me?" Suki asked.

Kakashi stopped walking as she asked her questions. The little girl instantly grew nervous. Had she said something wrong? Would he throw her on the ground and leave her here on her own because he now knew that everyone disliked her?

But she became relieved again when his head turned to look at her with a smile. "You needed me. And I don't turn my back on anyone who needs my help. That's my ninja way."

Suki stared at him with wondering eyes as he proceeded to walk down the path. She slowly placed her head down so that her cheek was resting on his shoulder. "Thanks… for helping me," she muttered.

"You're welcome," Kakashi replied.

He continued to walk down the road. They passed the border that marked the Land of Silver, and the two continued on toward the Land of Fire, where Konoha Village was awaiting them.